Host Hotels Pays $610M for South Beach Hotel

MIAMI BEACH—Bethesda, MD-based Host Hotels & Resorts has added the 429-room 1 Hotel South Beach here to its portfolio in a deal valued at $610 million or a hefty $1.42 million a key.

Host Hotels has acquired the iconic hotel property from global private investment firm Starwood Capital Group and Lefrak. The hotel was the first 1 Hotel, which now also has properties in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and will be opening in Los Angeles in the second quarter this year.

The deal follows up Host Hotels’ sale of the Westin New York Grand Central hotel in New York City for $302 million in January.

Starwood Capital Group, now headquartered in Miami Beach, acquired the beachfront property in February 2012 and over the next three years completed a $300-million gut renovation that transformed the 1970s-style hotel and attached 155 condominiums into a LEED Silver Certified building. The renovation included: drastically improving the four pool decks, rooftop bar and other common areas; and developing a 14,000-square-foot gym and a 5,500-square foot Bamford Haybarn Spa.

SH Hotels & Resorts, an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group, will continue to operate and manage the property as 1 Hotel South Beach. Hodges Ward Elliot, a leading privately-held real estate firm, was the seller broker for the transaction.

The renovation repositioned the property as one of the top hotel and residential destinations in South Beach, Starwood Capital states. The hotel won numerous industry design awards after the extensive renovation, which were followed by many guest awards including in late 2018 being voted the seventh best hotel in the United States by Condé Nast Traveler’s more than 400,000 voters, and receiving the Forbes Travel Four-Star rating.

The 1.1 million square foot has more than 600 linear feet of ocean frontage with direct beach access. The resort is the centerpiece of a mixed-use complex that features an additional 155 luxury branded 1 Homes condominium units.

1 Hotel South Beach features 160,000 square feet of meeting space, eight food and beverage outlets, spa, gym, four elevated pools with ocean views and 23,000 square feet of luxury retail space.

Host Hotels president and CEO James F. Risoleo says, “This is an extraordinary resort of an iconic and irreplaceable nature located on prime, beachfront real estate in the South Beach area of Miami Beach. The hotel has no near-term capex needs and carries a RevPAR of over $488, making it one of the top three in our portfolio. Our ability to convert high EBITDA multiple asset sales of non-core, high-capex and profitability challenged hotels into a resort of this caliber, materially improving our overall portfolio, is an excellent example of disciplined and prudent capital recycling.”

The $610 million deal includes the issuance of Class A common units of Host Hotels & Resorts, L.P. with an aggregate value of approximately $2.6 million and Class G Preferred Units with an aggregate value of approximately $23.4 million.

“We’re excited to partner with Host Hotels to continue to expand the 1 Hotels brand. Host is the gold standard of quality institutional ownership,” says Barry Sternlicht, chairman and CEO, Starwood Capital Group. “We wanted a partner who would continue to invest in the hotel’s future, our new amenities in planning, and in our green mission. It is rewarding to launch the first mission driven hospitality brand and have it be recognized by discerning luxury travelers and by the investment community.”